Youth Justice Barbecue Celebrates Juvenile Code Rewrite Progress

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Advocates, youth and members of the public gathered this weekend at Exchange Park in Decatur, Ga. to celebrate a year of progress toward juvenile code reform in Georgia. VOX Teen Communications hosted the barbecue along with a coalition of youth-focused non-profits that have concentrated on making proposed changes to Georgia’s Juvenile Code a reality. JUSTGeorgia, EmpowerMEnt, the Sapelo Foundation and VOX Teen Communications have formed a mesh of alliances to give youth a voice in matters that affect them and advocate for the first changes in the Children’s Code in more than four decades. An initiative started by Giovan Bazan and Octavia Fugerson at VOX Teen Communications more than a year ago sought to collect the voices of youth from around the state who were directly affected by the juvenile or foster care systems. The series generated such a positive response it was pursued by EmpowerMEnt and spearheaded by Bazan and other youth leaders after the founders aged-out of work at VOX.

Want to Ask the Nation a Couple of Questions?

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The A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research at Kennesaw State University in Georgia has invited the JJIE to submit two questions about juvenile justice for a nationwide poll. Here’s a chance to measure the public’s opinion on any number of important matters impacting our youth today, from program funding, to crime, to education. It’s a big issue, juvenile justice, too big to be covered in two questions. So we’re forced to whittle it down. Are you interested in helping?

Georgia Foster Kids’ Psych Drug Use Under Review

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More than a third of foster children in Georgia are prescribed psychotropic drugs — medications like antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Because so many foster children are using the drugs, a new review aims to provide better oversight over their usage. The review is expected to reduce prescriptions of expensive psychotropic drugs within the foster care system. “You are going to save money, and you’re going to provide good medical care,” Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Georgia currently spends $7.87 million year on psychotropic drugs.

Charity Soccer Tournament Benefits Inner City Youth

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America SCORES Atlanta, a non-profit after-school program that uses soccer, poetry and community service to address some of the core problems of today’s youth, is holding a charity soccer tournament tomorrow. The 5th annual co-ed tourney, the America SCORES Cup Atlanta, brings together 12 teams representing corporations, churches and professional service firms for a day of friendly competition. Kick-off is at 9 a.m. at the Georgia Soccer Park in East Point. Teams participating include Alston & Bird, Frazier Deeter, King & Spalding, Earthlink, Concessions International and North Avenue Presbyterian Church. “Without their involvement in SCORES Cup, America SCORES wouldn’t be able to accomplish its goal of working to improve the lives of inner-city youth in Atlanta,” said Anthony Joseph, board chairman for America SCORES Atlanta.

Considering the Eighth Amendment and Juveniles

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A New York Times story examines the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court in the near future taking up the question of whether a life sentence for a killing committed by a juvenile constitutes a violation of the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. A year ago, the high court ruled such sentences did violate the Eighth Amendment in cases not involving a killing. According to the story by Adam Liptak and Lisa Faye Petak, such a decision would affect some 2,500 prisoners.  

Father Furious At Police For Charging Son

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Police in Cobb County, Ga., have charged a 16-year-old boy with second-degree vehicular homicide after the vehicle he was driving crashed, killing his mother. Police say the two were on their way to an orthodontist appointment when their car was hit at an intersection in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. Police say the boy -- whose name is being withheld because he is a juvenile -- was trying to turn left into the intersection, but his view was obstructed by a truck. When he pulled into the intersection his car was hit by two oncoming vehicles. One hit the passenger door killing his mother, 45-year-old Kimberly Michelle Nichols.

OxyContin Abuse Plagues Ohio

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Ohio is struggling with a severe prescription drug abuse epidemic, according to a story in The New York Times. In the last decade, fatal overdoses surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the state. Most popular among drug addicts is the painkiller OxyContin.  Read more about the devastating effects of prescription drugs and OxyContin abuse in Prescribed Addiction, the first in our ongoing series, Journeys.  

Second-hand Store Benefits Victims of Sex Trafficking

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We all have closets full of old clothes that don’t fit and houses filled with dust-collecting knick-knacks.  Wellspring Living, through their upscale resale boutiques Wellspring Treasures, is turning those gently used items into help for victims of sexual abuse and trafficking. Wellspring Living has been offering therapy and education to sexual abuse victims for ten years.  Run almost entirely by volunteers, all proceeds from the three Wellspring Treasures stores benefit the women and girls involved with the programs.

“The women who come to the Wellspring Living house commit to 6 months or a year,” said volunteer Haley Welsh.  After leaving the house, the women live with a family who help them transition into their own place. All three Wellspring Treasures stores located in the metro Atlanta area accept donations six days a week.  

Georgia’s Failure to Enter Interstate Compact for Juveniles a “Serious Problem,” Judge Says

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The final day of Georgia’s participation in the Interstate Compact for Juveniles is fast approaching and one Floyd County juvenile judge is not afraid to call this a “serious problem.”

Juvenile Judge Tim Pape spoke with the Rome News-Tribune recently about the impact on Georgia if there is no agreement for transferring children between the states. “If a child is on probation in Georgia and moves to Tennessee, there is no agreement with Tennessee to oversee probation,” Pape told the News-Tribune. Georgia has been operating under a previous compact for juveniles for years, but that agreement is set to expire June 30.  Georgia failed to pass legislation that would have allowed the state to operate under a new, updated compact. Without an agreement “the state would have no ability to enforce bringing kids to and from Georgia,” Judge Pape said. "Forty-six other states have adopted this compact.

Celebrities Leverage Online Video to Combat Child Sex Trafficking

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The Demi and Ashton (DNA) Foundation recently launched a high-profile online video initiative to fight child sex trafficking. The series "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" features major celebrity appearances by names like Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake, and even Pete Cashmore - founder of the social media news site Mashable.com. The interactive campaign encourages users to submit their own "Real Man" video - using the slogans "I am a Real Man" or "I prefer a Real Man" - and upload them to the DNA Foundation's Facebook fanpage. In the video above, Isaiah Mustafa (commonly known as "The Old Spice Guy") and Mashable founder Pete Cashmore tip their hat to the cause. According to the DNA Foundation, the videos - and the organization itself - aim "to raise awareness about child sex slavery, change the cultural stereotypes that facilitate this horrific problem, and rehabilitate innocent victims."